The Bravest of Them All
by down memory lane
Summary: Asteria's never known anything different. Stealing food, escaping from the cops, but there comes a time when all that has to change. When even the people in the most desperate situations get lucky...
1. First Encounters

My life could never be called nice. It wasn't even a bit pleasant. In fact, it couldn't even have been described as a life worth living. Being unwanted never helped anything.

I was born when my parents were 18 years old. Neither were what could be defined as nice people, so they worked together perfectly. When I was three, the beatings stared. By the time I was eight I had run away from home and for some unknown reason my parents cared enough to call the police. Well, now that I think about it, they probably just didn't want the neighbors to think that they had killed me.

I had no relatives that I knew of, at least. Mostly I just lived on the street; stealing when I could, begging most of the time. Because of the stealing, the police seemed to have no intention of bringing me home, mostly they just wanted me locked up.

Most of the time when I was younger, I had no food. For most people, food and water are things of unimportance. You can just go to the tap or look inside your fridge. You never really think about how good you've got it. I've never really had it good, so nothing in my life was ever taken for granted. But that first year away from home I was struggling to live each day. Eventually I picked up a few tricks and was able to live well enough.

But, I knew where I would end up in life. Most likely I'd be pregnant by the time I was seventeen and then I'd be dead by eighteen; a simple, quiet existence. No one would mourn the death of another street urchin, the high-class might even be happy, one less person disturbing their perfect lives.

Here I am, a sixteen-year-old girl, contemplating her death. It shows what kind of world this place has become, one where the rich keep climbing and the poor keep dying.

To escape notice from various forms of law enforcement and grudges from street gangs, I've traveled the entirety of Great Britain, sneaking onto cargo ships to get to Ireland, hitchhiking, walking…

I've had a lot of names over the years. I was christened Fesso when I was six months old. I think my darling mother realized that I wasn't going to die and I should then probably have a name. Fesso means stupid in Italian, so she probably thought it was _so_ creative. Years after, I went by various names, most were forgettable. There was no need for anything glamorous, I didn't want people to remember me after I had robbed them blind. When I was fifteen, I decided that I should probably have a real name, just so there would be something to put on a gravestone, or, at the very least, for the toe tag when my body was inevitably found.

I'm 4'10", which is very helpful, since I can slip into any crowd easily. I have ringleted light brown hair and brown eyes. Having nondescript features helps keep the perverted hoboes away though and goes along with the inconsequential name, all helping to keep me going on with my life unnoticed.

Today I was wandering and looking around for anyone who wasn't watching their wallet too closely when I notice four boys standing a little ways ahead on the sidewalk. By the quality of their clothes they looked well off and were looking around with confused looks on their faces. Obviously they hadn't seemed to realize they were in the wrong part of town. Stupid tourists! I never felt guilty stealing from them, especially the ones who were too stupid to tuck their money far away, so little pick-pocketers such as myself, wouldn't take their bills. Still, even if they had tucked it away, I am a _damn_ good pickpocket.

Slowly I walked closer to them. They were laughing as they strolled up the street. They seemed about my age and all were extremely good-looking. Ignoring their looks, I focused on their pockets. One didn't have any, so he was no good. The other two I wouldn't be able to reach to well, so that left the fourth boy.

He was probably the handsomest of the foursome, with black hair to his chin, extremely fit, and woman-charming looks. I walked a little faster to catch up with their long legs.

When I was close enough, I got ready. Pretending to trip, I fell into the boy's side. My hand slipped into his pocket and out, before he even realized I had fallen into him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I cried, acting out the skit I had perfected a million times before. "Damn Asteria, you are so stupid!" I pretended to seem mad at myself, as the four boys looked at me. "I'm sorry, I'm just so clumsy, I can barely walk!"

"It's okay," The boy I had stolen from, said. "Doesn't matter."

I glanced up into his face and was taken aback for a second. Something showed in his grey eyes, something that I had only ever seen in my own eyes. There was sadness and pain in those eyes, things that a rich, snobby tourist wouldn't know anything about. Suddenly, I felt bad for stealing from this boy; it seemed like robbing myself.

"I'll just be going," I said, casting my eyes downward and started walking away.

"Hot," One of the boys said quietly as I left. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, quickly hurrying away.

When I was out of sight, I slipped behind a small house, ran through the backyard and hid behind the bushes to watched the boys. I loved watching people find out that they've just been robbed; it's the only entertainment that I can get in this fucked up world.

"So then," One of the boys was saying. "She started screaming and cursing me! Even though I just stopped the Bludger from smacking into her!"

I scrunched up my eyebrows in confusion. Did cursing mean that she had started yelling profanities at him? And what was a Bludger? Though I didn't get what they meant, living on the streets brings you in close proximity with the craziest of the crazies. I had heard my fair share of oddities.

"Damn Prongs, that girl really hates you!" The boy that I'd robbed said to his friend.

"She doesn't hate me! She really loves me, she just doesn't know it yet!"

"Sure Prongs, whatever," Another one of the boys said.

Bored with the confusing conversation going on in front of the bush, I examined the wallet clasped in my hand. It was made of some kind of hide, one that I had never seen before, though I've nabbed hundreds of wallets and purses. Opening the wallet, I cursed quietly. There was nothing in it, except for some weird coins from some foreign place, and a tightly folded rectangle piece of some heavy kind of paper. I examined the coins, but they were like nothing I'd ever seen before. So, I investigated the paper…it was blank. Why would he have such heavy blank paper in his wallet? What was the point?

"Hey, you guys want some food? I can change some galleons to muggle money." I looked up, what's muggle? But I watched, smiling slightly as the boy reached into his pocket and tried to find his wallet. He stuck his hand in his other pocket, but, of course, he couldn't find anything.

"What's wrong, Padfoot?" The shorter boy next to him asked.

"My wallets not here! The map was in that!"

While the boys looked around the street for the wallet, I looked closer at the paper in my hand. A map? Bending close to it, my breath warmed the paper.

"What the hell are they talking about? How is this a map?" I said quietly.

Before my eyes I watched as spider-think writing filled the paper. Writing appeared across the front, declaring it the 'Marauder's Map.' I would like to say that this was the strangest thing that I had ever seen, but unfortunately it wasn't. Strange things always seemed to mysteriously happen around me. It was one of the reasons why my father was always so upset with me, but they were hardly anything I could control, especially at the age of seven. When I was thirteen I had even made a cop punch himself, which would have been funny, if not for the fact that it terrified me.

Looking back at the map, I could see that it seemed to show a building or school of some sort, since their were classrooms labeled. A few dots moved around on the paper, like tiny bugs, each with a name under it. Looking closely, I could see that the dot labeled Albus Dumbledore was pacing in what looked to be an office.

If these boys could seemingly make strange things happen, did that mean that I wasn't along? If there was an answer to the reason behind the things I could do, then I had to find out more. And if the only way I was going to get it would be to follow these boys, then I would.

"It's not here Sirius." One of them said.

"It's not over here either, Black." Another said.

I filed away the tidbit of knowledge I had gained with knowing one of their names and peered cautiously back through the bushes.

"Hey! What about the girl that ran into you? She could've taken it!" The smaller boy suggested.

"Seriously, Wormtail, she looked like she couldn't hurt a fly." Sirius replied; I narrowed my eyes. I hated when people acted as though I was a stupid, naïve, little girl.

"Come on guys, we'll look around, but if anyone sees that girl we need to just make sure she didn't take it." The boy, who they called Prongs, stated as they walked back the way they had come.

That night I sat on a park bench, examining the map some more. It was so cool looking. The boy's nicknames were on the top, which proved that they had made it. The details were so intricate and the school seemed so interesting. But what school was it? And did it have anything to do with the things I could do?

For a week, I stayed in Wales. I had tried to follow the boys, but they had gotten into a car later on and disappeared. It was upsetting, but there was nothing I could do about it, like everything else in my life. After a while, I got bored of the dog poop smell of the park, which was where I slept. In the morning of the day that I had decided to leave, a police officer woke me up.

"You can't sleep here! Go home!" His sharp voice echoed through my sleepy head.

"I can sleep wherever the bloody hell I want!" No one should mess with me in the morning; I get very nasty.

"Excuse me? Alright missy, you're coming with me!" The officer attempted to grab my arm, but I moved just in time.

"Gosh, let me sleep!" I moved away from him and sat down on another bench, a little way away.

"Now miss," The officer was trying, and _failing_, to be nice to me. When he saw that I wasn't going to come with him, he spoke into his microphone. "Hey boys, I got a bit of a problem with a runaway. Over."

"Really, if you can't handle a _runaway_ then you're not a very good officer." I smirked as the officer lunged for me…and missed.

I could of easily left him there, but I needed some exercise and this was just what I wanted.

A siren came through the sleeping block. Why they needed to turn on the siren, I have no idea! The cop car pulled up on the street and two officers started towards us.

I noticed early-risers stopping on the street to stare at us. A few people peeked out of their apartment and hotel buildings, having been woken up by the sound of the siren. It was never good to have this many witnesses, especially when I was trying to lay low, but I was never good at running away from a fight and police officers are always my favorite to pick on. If they had been doing their jobs, then the world would be a nicer place.

When you live on the street, you have to learn to fight. Pick-pocketers easily rob from other pick-pocketers. I'd had to escape before, so fighting was nothing new; it would be getting away from the crowd that would be the hard part.

"Hey Padfoot! It's the girl that stole your wallet."

A voice came from the crowd. It was one of the boys I had robbed from. Now I _really_ needed to get out of here.

The two officers joined their comrade and came towards me.

"Now," I said in a little girl voice. "When you're trying to catch someone, you're supposed to split up and corner them, because otherwise, I can do this."

I ran around the men, quick as lighting, and kicked the middle one hard in the back, he feel over, pulling one of his comrades with him. The other was easily dispatched with a kick to groin when he turned to face me.

A couple of people in the now growing crowd laughed at the fallen officers.

"Dang, Prongs, she can kick butt!" Sirius yelled, causing more laughter from the surrounding people.

I smiled sweetly at the crowd and walked away, dusting off my hands. Beefy hands closed around my ankle. Turning around, I smiled sweetly at the officer who was still holding his crouch and looked pained. Returning to the stupid girl voice I said, "Now, you forgot to cover yourself again!" And I kicked him, square in the face. Moaning in pain, he keeled over, as I laughed and skipped away. None of the crowd seemed particularly bothered to catch me, so they dispersed.

As I passed the police car, I noticed a box of donuts in the front seat. Really, how cliché was that? Pulling a bobby pin from my hair, I picked the door's lock. Police cars are stupid if they can be picked _that_ easily! I grabbed the box, shut the door, and walked away, not caring that those who had stuck around were staring at me open mouthed.

"Ta ta," I said as I passed them, munching happily on a chocolate donut.

"Wait!" I turned around to see Sirius and the other three boys pushing through the people towards me. "Did you take my wallet?"

"What wallet?" I said in a very innocent sounding voice.

"My wallet you stole from me a week ago!" After seeing me take down three police officers and rob a police car I think he was starting to doubt that I was as innocent as I seemed to portray.

"Oh you mean this wallet?" I said, pulling it out of my pocket. "It's very nice looking. The money in it was no use, but the map was quite intriguing!" I threw the wallet at his stunned face.

"You're a witch?" He said, sounding very confused.

"Now there's no use calling me names. I just returned your wallet and I usually don't do that."

"How did you work the map if you're not a witch?" He looked utterly bewildered.

"All you have to do is say 'map' and it works. Now I really must be going! Ta!" His friends had joined him now, and they all looked very confused.

But I just went off, thinking I'd never see them dimwits again. No matter if they could do strange things or not, I valued my freedom more. So, with a sigh I turned down an alley and disappeared leaving four confused boys and three very angry police officers.


	2. The Truth

_Clunk, clunk, clunk, _the sentry's footsteps echoed around the empty hallway of the orphanage.

I lay on my cot, fists clenched. Sometimes my fist acts before my brain and gets me into situations that are best left alone. Like this morning, when I stole the donuts and attacked the officers. I guess the officer I kicked in the face was some big hot shot with some title like police chief or something idiotic like that. I mean, how can someone be the chief when they can be beaten by a sixteen-year-old who hadn't eaten in two days and had been sleeping on a park bench for the last week and a half!

Anyway, after getting his ass kicked he issued some wide alert for me, something about me being deranged and seriously unbalanced. I guess with these claims it means they can bring out a special arsenal of weapons, like a fucking tranquilizer! How in the world is that a fair fight?

And now here I am. Aching all over from being tossed, semi-unconsciously into a police car, and trying to figure out how to escape this prison for orphans. Really, it was a prison. If it wasn't, why then was there a guard making sure no one was out past lights out and bars on the windows? They tell you the guard and the bars are for peopling trying to get in, but they're lying because, who the hell would want to break into an orphanage?

Still, if they are trying to prevent people from escaping, they do a shoddy job of it. Take Subject A for example. Here I am slipping past the bored guard as he scratches his ass, apparently thinking he's alone.

The entrance doors were just around the corner, when I heard someone talking from a nearby office.

"Yes I will send someone to fetch her right now if you'd like. She came to us recently, quite a naughty child, or so the rumors are."

I frantically looked about trying to find a place to hide, as the door of the office opened quickly. Frantic, I saw that there was no hiding place nearby, the entrance doors were too far away, and the guard was the other way.

"And what are you doing out here?" The guard hurried up to me just as a man stepped from the office.

The guard grabbed me roughly and gripped my arm tightly as the man watched from the open office door. I cursed silently; just when I was about to escape they had to catch me!

"Just the girl I was looking for." The man sneered at me. I recognized as the director of the orphanage when I had come in this morning. "The ruffian who just arrived, the one who refused to give her name. But these kind people say they know you." The man's voice was sharp and unpleasant to the ears.

The guard started leading me towards the room. Knowing that there would be no way to escape, I decide I didn't want to be dragged into the room. A power surged up my toes, to my torso, and then through my arm. The guard yelped and released my arm. His hand had an ugly, red burn upon it.

I entered the room, head held high, leaving behind the now swearing guard. In the office stood two men. Both looked quite uptight with their sharp, expensive looking suits, and their slicked-down hair. Rich folk? What the bloody hell could they want with me?

"We would like you to leave us be. This is a private conversation." One of the men stated snidely, his eyebrows raised at the director, as though daring him to disagree.

"Of course," the director answered, clearly displeased, but seemingly not inclined to have a dispute. He left the room, slamming the door shut.

I raised my own eyebrow at the two men, waiting for them to speak.

"What's your name girl?" The smaller of the two men asked, his tone clipped and as cold as the icy room.

"If you really do know me, you should know it!" I shot back at the man, my eyebrow still raised.

"We have been looking for you for quite awhile. You're good at alluding capture." The second man's voice startled me. It was kind and quiet, compared to his companion's voice.

"Really…" I was doing nothing to help them out. They obviously had no idea who I was, probably just after something I had robbed from them. Besides, I was still pissed that they were the reason that I had been caught sneaking out.

"Ah, Miss Ryan, at last." I whipped around, immediately on my guard. Never had someone been able to sneak up on me without me realizing they were there. And he knew my name… That could mean nothing good.

A tall man stood in the doorway. _Funny, I thought the door had been closed._ The man had long silver hair and beard. He was wearing an odd assortment of clothes. Pointed boots, a purple pair of pants, and a maroon blazer.

"You may go Blitzer, good to see you Calvin." The nicer of the two men nodded to the new man and left. The other man glared, but followed Calvin all the same.

"How did you know my name?" I asked, sharpness apparent in my voice and my eyes narrowed. I had been told that this look tended to make people share their darkest secrets, but the man in front of me seemed unfazed and somewhat amused.

"Why we have been looking for you for quite awhile. I was actually surprised when I was informed you had been found. I hear you're good at alluding any sort of capture." A twinkle showed from the man's eye.

"That makes two of us," I muttered quietly.

The man chuckled and sat down in a chair. "I'm sure you are wondering who I am and what I'm doing here?" He continued, not waiting for my answer. "I am Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster at a school for people with unique talents. It has become apparent to many that you have quite a gift, the type that is surely welcomed at my school."

I stared at him, confused, but still on guard. "I don't intend to go to any old school, I'm not usually welcomed there."

"Ah, but my school isn't like any normal school. We do not teach things like Geography and English. Instead, we teach our students magic! You, my dear, are a witch."

I couldn't hold back the laugh that burst to my lips. "Are you insane?" At the same time, I couldn't help think of the conversation I had had a few weeks ago.

"_You're a witch?" He said, sounding very confused._

"_Now there's no use calling me names. I just returned your wallet and I usually don't do that."_

"_How did work the map? If you're not a witch?" He looked utterly gobbsmacked._

Hadn't that boy, Sirius was his name, called me a witch?

The man, Dumbledore, chuckled at the befuddled look on my face. "Against popular belief my dear, I am not insane. This must be befuddling for you to hear and it most certainly must be hard to believe."

"No, it actually isn't," I was surprised at my answer, but, as I said it, I knew it was true. "I always knew there was something different about me, I could always do weird things."

Dumbledore looked slightly startled at my answer, but smiled all the same. "What kinds of things?" I just shrugged as he continued. "I have come to offer you a place at my school. There, you will learn to properly control your magic."  
"Why does it have to be controlled?" Damn me and my curiosity. I shouldn't be listening to crazy things like this. I should be thinking of a way to get out of this place, not actually being intrigued by what this Dumbledore man was telling me, it was all utter rubbish.

"We try to keep magic away from muggles, non-magical people. When it is controlled, then no one can get hurt. Our students usually start at the school when they are 11. A letter was sent to your house, but I assume you no longer call that place home."

My jaw tightened at the thought of my 'home'. The place where I had learned how painful it was to be beaten. "No, it will never be my home." Dumbledore just nodded thoughtfully.

"I would like you to attend the school if you would agree to that. Tuition will be covered and you can stay there all holidays if you would like. You'll need lessons to catch up with your classmates, but we can find you a suitable tutor."

My thoughts crashed together in utter chaos. This was my chance for escape, to leave the streets, to have a normal existence and finally live in peace. By agreeing to this was I, Asteria Ryan, really deciding to trust this man? I had never trusted _anyone_ before. Yet, something about this man, made me trust him, might have been his blazer! What man, with dangerous thoughts on his mind, would wear a _maroon blazer_? Before my thoughts had become coherent I said,

"I'd like to go to this school. But… I have one condition."

"I think something can be arranged, if you insist." Dumbledore said with a nod.

"I don't want a tutor, I can learn fine by myself."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that." Then clapping his hands together, Dumbledore proceeded on, in business mode. "School started yesterday, but we still have time. I have taken the liberty of getting your books and supplies. Yet, you need a wand. Wands are used to control magic through. But, I have a strange thought. All these years when you've been doing magic, you've never once used a wand. How do you control the magic?"

I shrugged. "I can do things by just saying them."

"Well isn't that just fascinating. I have never heard of any witch or wizard doing full magic without their wand. May I see? Do you think you could turn this coffee into ice?" Dumbledore pointed to a cup of coffee on the director's desk.

"Easy. Ice," I muttered and the coffee turned to ice.

"That is very impressive, Miss Ryan. Well, you're almost seventeen and you're magic is highly advanced, so I think we shall put you in seventh year, even though you _are_ a little young." Dumbledore beamed at her.

"Thank you… sir," I said, smiling for the first time in ages.

"I think we can go then. Come on, we shall go by apparition." Dumbledore took my arm gently and turned quickly.

I felt as though I were suffocating. Thick bands pressed from all around, and I could no longer tell if my eyes were opened or closed. Just as I thought I was about to faint, the bands relinquished their hold around me.

An owl's hoot could be heard nearby. Dumbledore had already started walking towards a great iron gate, while I gathered by bearings. This apparition thing was slightly unnerving, but I wasn't going to admit that to my new headmaster. I watched as Dumbledore tapped his wand against the gate and it creaked open.

"Come along Miss Ryan, we cannot be late."

I hurried to catch up with him; his legs were considerably longer than mine.

We entered the school through two giant doors. Rather quickly, Dumbledore introduced me to a rather bossy looking woman named Professor McGonagall. He proceeded into the hall while McGonagall followed close after. Another set of giant, wooden doors stood before use. Dumbledore pushed them open and strode through. Taking a deep breath, I pulled back my shoulders, held my head high and followed him in.

I swear that every single person's head turned my way. Two tables stood on either side of me. I slowly walked down the aisle between two of them. A horizontal facing table stood ahead of me.

Someone in the crowd of students, wolf-whistled. Ah, just like life on the streets, I relaxed slightly and lazily stuck my middle finger in the general direction of the miscreat.

"Miss Ryan! We do not allow that type of business here. And Mr. Black, I think we would all prefer if you kept your comments to yourself!" Professor McGonagall _was_ bossy.

I was startled at the name. Black, Sirius Black. I glanced in the direction of where the whistle had come from but there were too many students. The room soon caught my interest more than the people. It was bigger and grander than any room I had ever been in before. It also looked like there was no roof, like the room just opened to the sky.

Professor Dumbledore smiled at me from his seat in the middle of, what I assumed to be, the staff table, as I walked up and stopped before it.

"Everyone," Dumbledore's voice quieted the room, which at my entrance had grown quite loud. "As you can see, we have a new student joining us. This is Asteria Ryan, and she will be a seventh year. Miss Ryan, if you will…" Dumbledore indicated a stool with an old hat upon it that stood where everyone in the hall had a clear view of it.

I slowly walked over to it and placed it on my head. Wary, that this was some sort of ambush, lead me on and then kill me. Hoping it wasn't I let the had fall over my eyes. I gripped the switchblade in my pocket. I wasn't about to go around unarmed, even with these weird powers I _supposedly_ had.

"You can let go of that knife. No one's going to hurt you." I jumped about a foot in the air. _The hat was talking!_

"That is a extreme amount of power you have, Miss Ryan. I haven't see this much since Dumbledore himself. Though, this kind of power isn't always used for the best purposes, neither was his…

"Now, where to put you? Hmm… I don't believe Slytherin would be a good choice. That could have some nasty consequences. Ravenclaw might do you well, but I don't believe brains are quite your thing. Hufflepuff…? No that wouldn't work, either. Must be… GRYFFINDOR!"

I pulled the hat from my head after what seemed like ages. The table to my left was clapping the loudest. Assuming that that was the table I had just been assigned, I set the hat down and walked quickly to the table. I sat down as far away from anyone else as I could. A movement caught by eye as I took my seat. Hundreds and hundreds of plates of food had just appeared before me. More food then I had ever seen in my entire life. With wide eyes I scooped everything within reach onto my plate and started gobbling it down.

"Hungry much?" I turned to see a boy sliding into the seat next to mine.

I promptly stopped eating.

"I'm Sirius. Sirius Black." It was the kid that had whistled at me when I had entered the Great Hall. And the same one that I had stolen from this summer.

Turning back to my food, I ignored him. He seemed completely befuddled by my lack of attention and watched as I finished the pile of food on the plate.

When I had finally seemed to stop eating, Sirius apparently thought it was ok to talk some more. "So, what school did you go to before this one?"

I knew the kind of boy that Sirius was. It was apparent from the way that he thought I would actually answer him. And from the way ego and confidence seemed to ooze off of him. Ego was one trait that I absolutely could not stand. Noticing that students were starting to exit the Great Hall, I stood up and followed them out.

"Hey, wait up!" Sirius ran to keep up with me. "Someone's got to show you where to go.'

"I can find it fine by myself."

Why was this boy trying to get me to talk to him? No one had ever really tried before… besides the police. He obviously hadn't recognized me from the incident in the park. I guess I might look different. They had cut my hair and given me a shower back at the orphanage. Like the saying goes, you can take the girl away from the street, but you can't take the street away from the girl, which was apparent because of the fact that I had already stolen Sirius's wallet and what I assumed was his wand when he was sitting next to me at dinner.

"Ah, so you aren't mute." I was about to retort with a snappy comment when someone spoke.

"Well, well, well… a new mudblood! How fun!"

A very large boy stood in front of us. Two boys stood beside him. They would have looked like bodyguards, had they not looked so wimpy and extremely pathetic.

"Don't call her that!" Sirius hissed.

"Oooo, defending her, aren't you, Black!" The boy spat Sirius's name as though it was something particularly nasty in his mouth.

The two boys continued bickering like children, while I just walked away. I would have gotten away, had not one of the boy's cronies noticed me.

"Hey Knott, she's getting away!" His voice was low and slow, as though he didn't know how to talk.

"Oh no you don't, mudblood." The boy turned towards me and thrust his wand in my neck. "How about you learn to respect you elders"

"I think not," I answered coolly. These boys were babies compared to what I had to deal with on the streets. "You happen to be too close for comfort!" With a small smile and the flick of my fingers the boy was blasted against the wall behind him. He fell unconscious to the floor; his wand crushed beneath his fat bottom. "Opps, so sorry." And I continued walking down the corridor.

"How the bloody hell did she do that? I didn't see her wand." I turned back and gave the boy and his three friends broad smiles before turning around and disappearing around a corner. I could get used to this school…


	3. Outsmarting the Marauders

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New chapter!! yay!! i hope you like it!

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Let me tell you, girls in Gryffindor aren't brave _at all_! They're pathetic wimps!

After leaving Sirius last night, I had followed some other Gryffindor to find the dormitory. I didn't like depending on others to find my own way, but the floor was even harder than a park bench; I _did not_ fancy kipping on them!

The common room was quite large and beautiful, but people stared at me, so I walked up the stairs, which supposedly lead to the girls' dormitories. I found my room, but was surprised to see that we actually got beds! Can you believe it? Actual beds!

I dropped my bag next to a bed. Dumbledore had given me the bag, along with my books, a pair of pyjamas (why did you have to change your clothes to go to sleep?), and two uniforms, _two_!

"Oh, like did you like lose your luggage? I mean, just so you know, like those clothes are disgusting!"

I looked over to see a girl with an overly large amount of hair product coating her stiff hair.

"No, I didn't like lose my luggage." I answered mockingly.

"So, you like, have no clothes? Wow are you like poor or something?" This girl was seriously starting to piss me the hell off.

"What's wrong with being poor?" I questioned, gritting my teeth together.

"Nothing," The girl did not continue, but her voice hinted sarcasm.

"Lola, how lovely to see you darling!" A pathetically high voice filled the room as a tall girl came over. She kissed 'Lola' on each cheek, gave me a snide look, and went over to her bed.

"Genny, you as well!" Lola replied, but it was clear that although the two tolerated each other, their voices hinted the opposite.

I slipped under the sheets, the softest things ever. Instantly I slipped into slumber.

**BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BEE…**

I jerked awake, my knife, which I had hidden under my mattress, clutched in my fist.

I watched as the girls each opened their bed curtains, grabbed the toilet bags and clothes, and each marched into the bathroom. I looked at the clock_. Who the bloody hell would get up _two_ hours before they went to breakfast?_

I closed my eyes and fell into slumber once more.

"You know you should probably wake up now. Breakfast starts in 30 minutes." I opened my eyes to see a pretty girl with a brown bob, watching me.

"Yup, and I don't need that much time to get ready." I shut my eyes again.

Ten minutes later, I lazily dragged myself from that comfy bed. I walked to the bathroom… and could barely walk through the door.

Girls were everywhere. Two were using lethal sticks to coat their eyelashes in some yucky glop. The other five had plastic objects that seem to be curling, straightening, crimping, and drying their hair. Why didn't they just use magic?

I grabbed a towel that seemed free and jumped into one of the individual showers. The last shower I had had in an actual shower had been two months ago.

Five minutes later I stood in front of a part of mirror, while the other girls glared at me. The uniform was a short skirt (ahh, I've never worn a skirt before!), a tight blouse (again, ahh!), and stockings. Robes were optional. I pointed my hand at my hair and muttered some incoherent words. My hair immediately dried and curled up into curls that made the other girls stare jealously.

Looking in the mirror, I didn't recognize myself. My skin had never been so clean and my uniform made me look like a normal teenager.

I left the girls, who had all been there for _two_ hours and went down to the common room. From there I tried to remember the way to the Great Hall. I failed miserably; I had never been one for directions. After twenty minutes of searching I used a searching spell and arrived for the end of breakfast.

"Your schedule, Miss Swan." Professor McGonagall handed her a piece of paper.

I glanced at it, surprised that I couldn't understand it. What was Potions? And why the bloody hell did we need to be defended against the dark arts? Did that mean that there were evil wizards? Wow, evil really does reside everywhere.

My first class was Transfiguration, McGonagall's class.

I left breakfast after grabbing a piece of toast, again marveling the amount of food on the table, and wandered around. By luck I managed to run into McGonagall in the hall and just walked behind her.

When we entered the classroom, I took a seat at the back corner. I hadn't been to school in nearly ten years. But I did remember that sitting at the back was always the safest thing to do!

Commotion from the corridor made the class look towards the door. Four boys ran into the room just as the bell rang.

"Yes! Minnie, my darling, didn't we promise you we'd be on time for the first day?" It was Sirius and the gang of boys from the summer.

"Interesting Mr. Black, I assume that you will make it a habit to arrive on time to my class! That goes for all of you," She indicated the other three boys. "You may take a seat."

"Well you see Minnie, it seems that someone is already occupying my seat." I looked up at him, looking bored.

"Mr. Black, you may sit in the front today."

The class gasped, apparently no one, _no one_, ever sat in Sirius's seat. And apparently Sirius _never_ sat in the front of the room. Sirius glared daggers at me, but seemed slightly wary.

One of Sirius's friends sat down next to me, but scooted his desk farther away, as though he was afraid of contracting some fatal disease. I just snorted and proceeded to ignore him.

"Now, this is a N.E.W.T. class, I only accept the best here. The class work will be exceedingly difficult, so I assume all of you will keep up.

"Today we will be reviewing what we covered last term. You will make this kitten disappear and then cause it to reappear again. Alright? Miss Evans, you may give each student a kitten."

When I received my kitten, I looked around to see what everyone else was doing. Many were waving their wands in a complicated manner, while muttering difficult incantations.

I just muttered disappear and the kitten vanished. Professor McGonagall was watching me as I made the kitten reappear once more.

"Miss Swan, that is the first time that anyone has ever done that trick that quickly. Professor Dumbledore informed me of you powers, but this is quite amazing. I would like to try something. Are you able to vanish people?"

I shrugged, hating the amount of eyes staring at me. I put my hand to my head and disappeared. McGonagall looked very impressed as I reappeared.

"You may do what you like for the remainder of class."

When the bell rang, I grabbed my things and left before anyone else had. I was on my way to my next class when a 'meow' came from my bag. The kitten I had vanished had snuck into my bag. Groaning, I turned around and when back to Transfiguration. Luckily, I had a free period next, so I wouldn't be late for class.

I was leaving the classroom when I noticed a commotion at the end of the hallway.

"So Snape, what were you doing with James's girl? You know, Lily only hangs out with you because she pities you. You're nothing but a greasy wimp, but of course everyone already knows that." Sirius had his wand pointed at a greasy haired boy. Sirius's three friends stood behind him.

"Oh yes, and it is _sooo_ not wimpy to be grouping up four to one." I leaned against the wall, my arms crossed across my chest and my eyebrows raised.

"Stay out of this, Swan." Sirius snarled.

"Oh, someone's feisty." I grinned at him, while he glared. Something about me seemed to irritate him.

"Shut it," One of Sirius's friends responded.

"Wow, you all have the most wonderful comebacks!" I watched out of the corner of my eye as Snape slipped away.

"You think you are just so wonderful, don't you?" Sirius asked, while I rolled my eyes.

"You know, I haven't known you for long, but I already think your mixing up me for you."

"Just buzz off Swan. We have work to do." The shortest of Sirius friends said to me.

"And since you were so enthralled by me, you missed that your _work_ slipped away!" I grinned as they glared.

"Well then, you'll just have to become my work." Sirius directed a curse at me, which I instantly dodged.

The four threw hex after hex at me, but I dodged them all.

"Stay still why don't you!" The four seemed to be getting tired of me running around.

"Nope, but I think you all should." I walked away, leaving them frozen behind me.

The day, after that, went fairly quickly. In Charms, I was able to do just what I had in Transfiguration, but Potions and Herbology were harder. After receiving numerous bites from a fanged daisy and burning myself in Potions, I decided that cooking and gardening are_ not_ my thing! Sirius and his friends, who I learned called themselves the Marauders, somehow ended up in every single one of my classes. They were late for Charms because it seems like my body-bind jinx was a little too strong. Yet, they didn't dare go near me, instead they kept a wary eye on me.

But I had underestimated them. I assumed that they would be too nervous for revenge. But the Marauders live for revenge, however weak their comebacks are.

I woke the next morning with purple hair. Which seemed considerable lame. What kind of revenge is that? I mean, I can turn it back easily, but the purple actually looked kind of cool, so I just left it.

The Marauders laughed when I entered the Great Hall, but I just smiled at them. A brilliant idea came to me as I looked for a place to sit.

"You know," I said as I sat down next to them. "I can turn this back instantly." I demonstrated by turning my hair back to normal. "But it was actually a kind of cool colour. You, Black, I think a blue will go well with you." I flicked my finger and Black's hair turned a daring shade of electric blue. "You Potter," I had learned their names from the gossiping Gryffindor girls (hehehe). "How about forest green, Lupin, you can have piss yellow, and Pettigrew can have candy apple red!"

The boy's faces grew horrified and they all dashed from the room, covering their heads, while I snorted with laughter.


	4. Feeding them their own medicine

Here's the next chapter! i hope you all enjoy it! feedback is always appreciated!

* * *

Did you know that if you looked up _Lily Evans_ in the dictionary, you'd find a large picture of the Head Girl and the following definition: \Lile Evans\ _n:_ Perfect in all respects, such as, perfect grades, perfect looks, perfect boyfriend, perfect life. _Look up also:_ _stuck-up_, _straight-A's_, and _chick_

Lily Evans is not someone you want to mess with. Her hexes are numerous, their side-affects ghastly. But it seems as if all of this does not prevent James Potter from stalking her. Really, from only being at the school this long, I've seem James heading towards the hospital wing six times, _six!_ And that's just counting the times I've seen and the times that he's actually needed to see the nurse, instead of him being able to fix his own face. Not that it's just his face that takes the punishment…

The Marauders had been very wary around me lately. Whenever I entered a room housing the Marauders, they all hastily covered their precious hair. It's quite hilarious actually.

Again, they tried for revenge. And, like before, they failed miserably. This time, they tried to curse my books to chase me around the common room one afternoon. After clearing away the black eye that one of my books had caused me, I made every book in he library chase the boys while I plotted (and got kicked out of the library).

I needed the perfect revenge that would show those dumb butts who they were messing with. This led me to sneaking into the boys' dorm at four in the morning on a Friday. Waving my hand over the four Marauders sleeping forms, I walked from the dorm with them floating behind me.

Let's just say that the boys would not have fun when they woke up…

After going back to my dormitory, I slept for a couple more hours, then I followed the other Gryffindor girls from the dorm, smiling smugly.

A crowd of people was grouped around something in the Great Hall. It seemed as though the Marauders had decided to sleep upside-down in the Great Hall, wearing boxers with hearts on them, while all snoring loudly. The Gryffindor girls gasped and shrieked. This caused the four boys to wake up, take one look at themselves, and start yelling.

What followed was utter chaos. The Marauders cursed and yelled, while I sat and ate a piece of toast. Reversal spells were thrown at the Marauders from distressed girls, while the Slytherins sent curses their way. They would not be passing up any chances when their worst enemies were in such a weak position.

Every reversal spell though didn't work, while the curses caused the Marauders to yell louder.

Professor Dumbledore, who had been watching from the staff table with a twinkle of merriment in his eyes, finally went down to the Marauders. Yet, all of his spells didn't work. He looked confused for a moment and then turned around and headed towards me. _Uh oh! I'm absolutely screwed!_

"Miss Swan, would you mind helping these poor boys out of this position?" Dumbledore asked, with a smile on his face, the amused twinkle still present in his blue eyes.

Seeing that he wasn't angry, I decided to milk the situation for as long as I could. "I don't know, you see, I'm very partial to the colour they're turning right now. Black, you know a purple face actually makes you more attractive." I snickered as Sirius tried to glare at me.

"Swan, do you mind?" James was wriggling around, trying to be released.

"Well, if you're sure that's what you want…" I flicked my finger and the boys were suddenly released... right on top of the people standing below.

There were groans and shouts of pain, as I walked away, Dumbledore giving me a wide grin.

I sensed, rather than heard the hex Sirius sent my way. Before I even turned around, I had cast a shield charm to guard my back. I turned around when the curse had bounced toward the stonewall directly behind Sirius.

"Now, it's never good manners to curse someone when their back is turned. Didn't your mother ever teach you manners?" I shot a spell at Sirius so fast that only his superb Quidditch reflexes helped him dodge the hex.

"You know nothing about my mother, but it seems like I'm not a son of her." Again Sirius tried to get me with his spell. But really, those wands have a much slower response rate than my hands did. Before I could respond to his comment, McGonagall stopped us.

"Mr. Black, Miss Swan, stop this instant." Professor McGonagall was heading towards us. She looked like an angry bull on a rampage. "I have never seen such horrible behaviour and from my own house! I am greatly disappointed! You two will both lose thirty points from Gryffindor and detention to work out your differences."

"Yes! Only one detention." Sirius muttered quietly.

"Oh no Mr. Black, it seems as though you don't understand me. You will be serving detentions until I see that the two of you can be civil with each other. Do I make myself clear?"

I ground my teeth in frustration and muttered "crystal clear".

"Good, come to my office at seven." McGonagall turned around and marched back up to the staff table.

Sirius and the other Marauders walked out of the Great Hall, but not before Sirius gave me a piercing glare. I just smiled sarcastically back at him.

That evening I traded the warm common room for the cold, stone corridors. When I arrived at McGonagall's office, Sirius wasn't there, even though I was ten minutes late because I had dragged my feet the whole way to the Transfiguration teacher's office.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Swan." She raised her eyebrows at me. "Do you have any idea where Mr. Black is this evening?"

I snorted. "As you have seemed to have noticed, I don't keep track of where Black," I spit the name out, "goes, unlike those crazy fan girls."

Before McGonagall could respond, the door was thrown open as Sirius strutted in (how conceited can a person be?).

"Thank you for _finally_ coming Mr. Black. Because of both your tardiness's, you and Miss Swan will be staying an hour later than I planned on keeping you here."

Great, and my day just keeps getting worse and worse, doesn't it?

"The two of you will be grading these first years' tests, but you must do each one together. When you are finished, please stay here until I come back. You may begin." She handed a stack of papers to Sirius and left the room.

"Here." Sirius grumbled as he started to separate the exams.

"You are to do the project together!" Professor McGonagall's voice echoed from the numerous papers that Sirius had been trying to split up.

"Damn," Sirius muttered and then pulled his chair closer to hers. "We _have_ to do it together, unfortunately." He muttered the last of his sentence.

"Fine, let's just hurry, because of _you_, we have to stay here longer."

"What would you be doing? Being a pathetic loner?"

"Wow, Siri, did you make that comeback up all on your own, or did you have your little fan girls think it up earlier?" I adopted a little baby voice as I talked to him; he just glared back.

The rest of the hours were spent barely talking. We both corrected the tests together. Only needing our voices when we disagreed on a kid's paper. Actually, that happened quite frequently, so we did talk a lot. Sirius should never become a teacher. Grading papers is not one of his achievements!

Once we finished, I asked Sirius a question that had been in my mind since the morning.

"Hey Sirius, why doesn't your mother count you as a son?" Sirius looked up, seeming surprised.

"She disowned me summer before last." He seemed to want to stop talking about it, but I was curious.

"If it makes you feel better, I was disowned from my family this summer." It wasn't strictly true, but it was close enough. We stayed silent the rest of the detention

"Good," McGonagall dismissed us after looking over the papers when she had returned and reminding us that we needed to come to her room the following evening again.

* * *

School passed slowly. It took awhile to get into the whole school thing. I had never had to do schoolwork before, but I remembered what school had been like when I was eight, so I didn't look completely pathetic.

The teachers piled on work, but I was never one to complain. The work made it seem like I actually had a purpose, which had never really happened to me before. School was pretty easy. I could do all the spells in most classes, but my grades had started to slip in Potions, the only class I took that didn't have much to do with wands (except Herbology, but really, who can't deal with a little plant?).

Detentions continued with Sirius, mostly we just graded the Transfiguration teacher's papers. Or else we cleaned, but Sirius and I tried not to talk to each other at all. Obviously we would be here all year, because we certainly weren't making progress with the whole 'being civil with each other' thing.

"Congratulations Miss Swan on your essay." Professor McGonagall gave me a small smile as she handed me my essay during class later in the week. A large O was on the top of my paper. Sirius glared at me, while I just smiled sweetly back at him.

At the end of the class, I walked down the hall, stuffing papers into my jam-packed bag. As I turned the corner on my way to the Great Hall, I noticed a girl trying to catch up with me.

"Do you need something Lola darling?" I asked, smirking at the surprised look on her face.

"Just wanted to have a little talk with you Swan." I noticed the girl clutching her wand in her colourful talons.

"I'm sure a _talk_ was certainly on your mind." I muttered, while she fake smiled at me.

"See here Swan! Sirius Black is mine!"

I didn't really seem to understand why girls fawned over Sirius so much. Seriously (no pun intended), he really wasn't that amazing! Besides the fact that he had amazing looks, really he wasn't anything special. Supposedly he was smart, but I easily beat him in pretty much every class.

"Go ahead, sweetie, he's all yours!" I turned my back to her and started walking away.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me, scum!" I clutched my heart in mock pain. "Just because you get to be with Sirius every evening, doesn't make you special. And you try to get attention by cheating in classes."

"Do you think you could explain something to me?" I turned back to look at her, one eyebrow raised. "One, I have detention with Sirius every evening, not sex. Two, how is it possible to cheat? I mean sure, on a test, but really how can I cheat?"

"Easy. You just copy someone else's work." She smirked again, thinking she had finally stumped me.

"Right," I said with a snort. "McGonagall totally wouldn't notice that. Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get to lunch."

"Of course, go ahead, whore." She mumbled the last part, but I easily heard her.

"Wow, what a hypocrite." Flicking my finger, I started to walk away.

"What the bloody hell are you doing to me, slut?" I smirked and turned, watching as Lola was pulled along with me because of my spell.

"You'll see!" I continued walking, dragging the girl along.

When I entered the Great Hall, I noticed Lola starting to freak out. I just grinned and proceeded to the Marauders' spot at the Gryffindor table.

"Hey Sirius, darling," I fluttered my eyelashes at him. "Lola here has something to say to you." I smiled at him and smirked inside when I noticed how he stared at my lips, poor Sirius, now I knew exactly how to drive him crazy.

"Go ahead Lola," I prodded her closer to the table. When it was obvious that she wasn't going to say anything, I decided to speak for her. "Since Lola here seems a bit shy, she just told me that she loved that night the two of you spent together and she thinks the tattoo of a kitten on your bum is _so_ adorable and such a turn-on!"

I walked away, hurrying down the table before finally bursting with laughter. The people who had heard what I said, started whispering and giggling to their neighbors, while I just tried not to fall of the bench in fits of giggles.

Once I had finished laughing, I looked around, sensing someone's gaze on me. I immediately tensed up. I looked up and my eyes connected with someone's green eyes, staring straight at me.

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End file.
